The Kremlin has confirmed reports that Russian troops are beginning to withdraw from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh between the republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"This is indeed the case," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency on Wednesday in response to media inquiries. He did not give any details on the time frame of the operation.
The former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have long fought over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has a mostly Christian Armenian population, but comprises about 4,500 square kilometres within predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan. It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the flare-up of ethnic conflicts, it seceded from Baku in 1994 with the help of Yerevan.
Azerbaijan recaptured part of these territories in 2020. In the fall of 2020, Russia then deployed troops to the crisis region on the basis of an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan and a ceasefire to act as a buffer and prevent further fighting.
According to official figures, the Russian contingent amounted to 1,960 military personnel.
However, the Russian soldiers did not intervene in Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. The leadership of the separatist region was forced to surrender after a short period of fierce fighting. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians then fled the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared at the time that the Russian soldiers were to remain in the region until November 2025 in accordance with the agreement.
Due to the changed situation, however, it would have to be decided in future how to proceed with the troops.
